CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING ON IMMIGRATION AND THE MOVEMENT OF PEOPLES
This paper interrogates the Catholic social teaching on immigration and the movements of peoples. The discourse does this, by first of all stating that, the rights of migrants (refugees, immigrants, asylum seekers, migrant workers, and internally displaced persons-IDPs) begin with the foundation of Catholic Social Teaching, namely, the dignity and sanctity of the human person. The paper submits that right to life and the conditions worthy of life, when threatened by poverty, injustice, religious intolerance, armed conflict, and other root causes, give rise to the right to migrate. It argues that unity in diversity is firmly grounded in the Church's social teaching and understanding and appreciating this helps us to put our faith into action. This paper, further evaluates the principles of Catholic social teaching using specific quotes from Church documents that address the most common misperceptions about Church teachings. The purpose of this discussion therefore, is to provide a brief, concise, and useful compilation of information on authentic Roman Catholic teaching regarding the areas of immigration and the movements of peoples that currently concern most Christians. The body of this work consists of quotes from documents and statements originating only from those men who are authorized to speak for the Catholic Church, namely, the Popes and those Bishops and theologians in union with them. Thus, following this methodology, these quotes are extracted from encyclicals, pastoral letters, and addresses by these representatives of the Magisterium (teaching authority) of the Catholic Church.
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